


heho am gremlin

by LiterallyCantChooseJustOneFandom



Series: Server AU Time [2]
Category: Pocket Hog Server, Sonic the Hedgehog (IDW Comics), discord server - Fandom
Genre: but owie, its zombotification, the death isn't actually death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-06
Updated: 2020-10-12
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:34:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 5,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26858305
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LiterallyCantChooseJustOneFandom/pseuds/LiterallyCantChooseJustOneFandom
Summary: so basically its some people from the pockethog server (and our alters) with the zombot virus from IDW Sonic.
Series: Server AU Time [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2048456
Comments: 30
Kudos: 28





	1. Zealot

Twas a normal sunny day on the Pockethog Server ™ Parks and Rec office when suddenly a very small and very colourfully-haired lad entered with a vial of mercury-coloured material that contrasted sharply against his constantly-worn black hoodie. “Hey I made the zombot virus a thing but I need someone to test in on, any of y’all want to volunteer?”

Shura stopped Spot from raising their hand. Mooms looked between the other mods, all of whom silently sipped their wine. The children dropped their football and glared at the emotionally exhausted dude. “Professor, what the fuck?”

“I was bored.” He waited another moment before shrugging. “Aight, self-experiment time.” He unplugged the vial and dumped the contents on his head. The liquid metal covered his very short, lol, body and everything seemed still.

Mooms approached him. “Maybe it didn’t work?” Except it did work and Professor reached out, spreading the virus onto Mooms. “HOLY FUCK! VERY WRONG, I WAS VERY WRONG!”

“Mama!” Tensuki yelled out, carried out of the office by Rock and Novia. The server scattered, wine glass breaking on the ground as the new pair of zombots reached for people. Suddenly a van entered the park’s yard, skidding on the grass and kicking up dirt. 

Cheese rolled down the driver-side window, yelling out of the opening. “Get in, get in, get in, get in!” Rusty and Kit opened the back doors, a group rushing in before Cheese hit the gas, doors still open and the last person pulled in. “You know, it’s really convenient that I found the Mystery Machine when I did, huh?”

“Ok, roll call folks!” Rock, the only mod in the van, ordered. 

“Cheese is driving!” Cheese announced.

Niya muttered to herself before speaking up. “We have Ten, Novia, me, you, a whole lot of people.”

“Rusty, Kit, Dragon, Skizz, Snix, Mori, Arri, Shura and Spot, and Kiwi.” Ten filled in the blanks. “We need to get to a lab.”

“A lab? Why?” Rusty asked, thinking of getting food and water. 

“I’m gonna cure the zombot stuff.” Ten bit his nails. “We need to get to a lab in order to do that.”

Rusty paused for a moment before shifting in the crowded van. “You’re literally 7.”

Ten also paused. “Or 12. We don’t really know. Either way, I’m going to fix this.”

“Vowing vengeance aside,” Rock announced, “we need to get supplies, so going to another building to get stuff is a good idea either way. Jurassic Park should be a little way west so we can get food and science stuffs -”

Cheese suddenly stopped, almost hitting two hedgehog-shaped dudes in the middle of the road. They kept eye-contact with the driver until they heard the van unlock. They opened the passenger-side door, both fitting in the large seat. “Gleam, Shadow, glad you could join us.” Novia deadpanned under a pile of people that had shifted with the sudden soft.

“You’re welcome for adding a couple of OP fighters to your party.” Shadow sassed back, still too small for the seat. Cheese started driving again after Gleam put the seatbelt around him and the Ultimate Lifeform.

It was silent for a moment before Snix piped up. “Can we turn on the radio?”


	2. Obituary

Jurassic Park was dreadfully dull without any of the dinosaurs within sight. The day had darkened into night and a black van heavily chugged into the park. The occupants piled out, humans and hedgehogs made their way silently through the private pathways of the park, heading towards a laboratory that peaked above the treeline. 

The sound of crunching grass turned into stepping on tiles of the lab as a small group broke off and entered the building. “For such an important place with delicate materials, this place has shit security.” Spot commented, breaking the silence.

“Yeah, it’s so weird. It’s like they want scientists to get eaten in every interation of this place they build.” Niya answered, looking at the camera.

Arri tilted her head. “What are you looking at?”

“What I need to.”

Tensuki let go of Shadow, who he’d been carrying for comfort. “We need to get to the upper levels, that’s where they keep all of the medical-like equipment.”

“How do you know that? Do you have a map?” Shadow asked, eye-ridge raised.

Tensuki looked into the camera. “I know.” He began walking towards a hallway when he was stopped by a polite cough. He turned to see Arri pointing to an elevator. “Oh cool! Niya, we’re off!”

Arri, Spot, and Shadow stayed on floor-level while Niya and Ten entered the elevator with a relaxed salute. The elevator itself was silent with not even the Jeopardy music to fill the silence. “So…” Niya began, “are you 7 or 12? Did we ever figure that out?”

“I don’t think we did.” Ten answered, kicking a pebble that wasn’t actually there. “We can probably -  _ holy what _ !”

The elevator doors opened to reveal another member of the server, Lavender, already there. And petting a velociraptor. “Oh hi!”

“...this is fine.” Ten muttered. “Hi, Lav-chan! We’re getting stuff to make a vaccine, want to join?”

Lavender shrugged. “Sure!”

Niya went over to a cabinet and carefully read several labels before shoving several nondescript bottles, vials, and containers in her suddenly-appearing backpack. “We’re good, let’s go!”

“Coolio!” Ten exclaimed, stuffed in the elevator with Lavender and a docile velociraptor. “Let’s head back to the Mystery Machine, gang!” Niya ran back inside, petting the raptor in the small elevator. It opened on the bottom level and it took a few seconds for them to dislodge themselves from the small metal box. 

Looking back at their group, however, revealed that Shadow was the only one left - Spot and Arri were zombots and the hedgehog was fighting not only them but two additional zombot velociraptors. Ten scrambled to join Lavender on the back of the velociraptor. “This is nO LONGER FINE!”

Shadow looked back with adrenaline, metal slowly making its way up his legs. “You three - four - get back to the van, I’ll hold them off!”

“You self-sacrificial bitch, come on!” Niya yelled, standing from the back of the very patient velociraptor. 

Shadow glared. “I’m literally already infected!”

Niya sat down. “Oh, you right. GG my guy.” As they ran towards the exit, a zombot t-rex busted the hall before Shadow down with its foot, dwarfing the hedgehog.

The Vegeta-copy sniffed with confidence. “My, aren’t you a big one? That’s alright, I know just how to deal with you.” He took his bracers off, feeling energy move under his fur. “CHAOS BLAST!”

In the rearview mirror, the laboratory blew up and its remains fell down, zombots the only thing left in Jurassic Park.

Snix looked out the window to watch Ten, Niya, and Lavender ride the uninfected velociraptor. “I feel like I missed a lot of information.”


	3. Manifest

Branches crunched underfoot as Novia led a small group into a forest. Though forest may be too grand of a term, the road was less than 30 feet away, the Mystery Machine pulled over. “I know things about outdoor stuff, but do you guys?” She turned back to her companions, Kit and Dragon.

Kit answered first. “Before I ate a crab apple I thought it would actually taste like crab.” Novia nodded, leaning against her staff.

“I can make spaghetti.” Dragon answered. “And only various types of pasta.”

Novia nodded again, looking into the sky. “So we’re fucked?”

“Well, I wouldn’t say that!” Dragon supplied cheerily. “You’ve got a weapon that you didn’t have the last chapter, so that’s something to un-fuck us!”

“She didn’t have it in the chapter before that one either, so it’s new-new!” Kit supplemented. “New things are always the best! No media outlet has ever done anything to prove otherwise!”

“Y’all are exceptionally weird today. We’re always weird, but the apocalypse really made you lose your marbles, huh?” Novia replied, continuing deeper into the “forest”.

“Nah, we’re just vibin’.” 

"Vibe with some skillz, newb."

\----

Tensuki had made a lot of assumptions on the zombot virus. He had and he’ll admit it. In the comics, Tails’ original plan didn’t really need a sample, it just needed Sonic’s speed. 

But real vaccines didn’t really work like that did they?

Pumpkin and Cheese sat with him at the fold-out table in the van, the others listening to Spotify on their dying phones, unaware of Tensuki’s horrible realization. He almost didn’t have the heart to break the mood, but they’d all have to learn sooner or later. He coughed into his hand and immediately had a bottle of hand sanitizer thrown at his head from the mystical force of 2020 itself. “ _ Rude. _ ” Nevertheless, he sanitized his hands, hoping the residue from the other chemicals would make his hands glow in the dark or something. “So I have some good news and some bad news.”

“Good news first!” Shura requested, bags under their eyes. They clutched a plushie Spot gifted them.

Ten gulped. “We need examples of the metal virus.”

“That’s the good news?” Skizz asked through the groans of the van.

“Yup.”

“Ok so what’s the bad news?” A new voice asked. Feral opened the back of the van and sat down with the rest of the server as if she’d been there the whole time. “Oh, also!” They took a sniper rifle out of the back of their jacket and handed it to Skizz. 

“Thanks!” Skizzlers nodded to Feral.

Ten gulped again. “We’ll have to get it off a zombot.”

“ _ This planet is a fucking nightmare. _ ” Kiwi exasperated. “ _ We need a new one. _ ” Meanwhile, Orbot was drinking his problems away in a bar somewhere, immune not to the metal virus but to the bullshitery that followed it.

Rock looked down from where they were hanging from the van’s ceiling-hammock. “Make a new one then. Oh wait  _ we’re all stuck here because Elon Musk won’t donate any of his rockets! _ ”

“We can complain about Elon Musk and the fouls of capitalism later! Right now, we need to think of some sort of a plan!” Mori calmed the van.

“If we need a sample,” Gleam, the robot hedgehog spoke up, “I can get it. I should be immune.”

Ten gave him a grave look. “We’re in a whumper’s fanfiction.  _ No one’s immune _ .” He thought about it for a moment before he heard something. “Is that the screaming of a mechanical moose?”

The mystery machine was nearly tipped over, Rock falling from their hammock. Outside the window, Gleam could see a zombot moose antler and rolled the glass down. “Skizz, want to use your new toy?”

Skizz smiled bright, climbing into the seat. She aimed the rifle at the animal only for the bullet to ricochet off of the animal’s metal case. The moose stopped its attack, looking into Skizz’s eyes. “You’ve offended my sensibilities. I shun you.” It left, but not without disappointing Skizzlers. 

She turned back into the van. “My new toy isn’t very effective, but it’s offensive capabilities are Super Effective.”

“How did you capitalize with your mouth?” Niya asked from somewhere in the people-pile on the ground.

Ten perked up from where he was crushed in the pile. “I hear something else!”

_ To be continued... _


	4. Barrage

Novia was stuck.

The base of the tree had two zombots, formerly Kit and Dragon, clawing at the bark. Her staff was lodged in a tree several yards away and the branch she was perched on with a nest full of baby hawks was beginning to creak and crack.

The hawks looked at her expectantly, like tiny gods waiting for entertainment. She tried to ignore it until she unzipped the pockets of her jacket and stuffed the chicks carefully in them. “Don’t look at me like that, I’m trying my best.”

The last chick to go in the really really deep pockets looked at her, unbelieving. 

Novia huffed, then jumped off the tree a way aways from the zombots. A few steps and she pulled the staff out of the tree, the back hitting Dragon in the forehead. “Oh damn, sorry not sorry.” She sprinted back to the road, screaming into the air and really putting her lungs to the test.

She looked back and realized there were more people than she was expecting. Along the treeline were zombots as far as the eye could see, trees falling to the mass of metal mayhem. Was that Spot? Novia continued to run, baby hawks less displeased with the ride than with the lack of a fight. 

The Mystery Machine was finally in sight - was that a dent in its side? - and she grabbed the handles of the back and stomped in. “HEY THERE’S A SHITTON, TIME TO GO TIME. Also I have a couple of birbs in my pockets.”

The van started up, the driver unknowing that someone stepped out. Skizz looked out the window at the single non-zombot figure. “What are you doing?! Get back in here!”

They stepped further away. “I’ll hold them. It’ll take them longer to get to the van.” Before Skizz could say any more, the van startled forward, leaving the other behind. The horde approached and the person looked through the crowd, spotting the person they were looking for.

Shura walked up to Spot, embracing them as metal spread over their skin. “See? I’m holding you.” It took only a moment for Shura to join the zombot ranks, following the van’s tracks north - towards Angel Island.

\---

The van was silent, now aware that they’d last more people. Kiwi looked up from the spot they were staring at on the floor, baby hawk in their lap. “So Angel Island?”

Rock huffed. “Yeah. If we get the Master Emerald we might be able to, I don’t know, do things?”

Ten nodded, silent.

\---

On Angel Island, Bucky and Thark drank their maybe-not alcoholic wine, sat upon the Master Emerald.


	5. Onslaught

The van chugged along, drawing up dirt as it continued along a dirt road in Canada. “Hey, did any of us have passports?” Snix asked suddenly, breaking the melancholy silence. “We didn’t even get stopped?”

“Who’s going to stop us? Zombot mountaineer?” Gleam asked, a forced humour in his voice.

Rock chuckled darkly. “It’s still possible.”

“You know those guys in England at the palace? It’d be cool to see a zombot them.” Ten stated, receiving concerned glances. “Listen, Niya and I saw zombot dinosaurs, ok? Those were cool. I want to see cool ones.” There was a bang on the roof of the van, Cheese rolling the window down and looking up.

Rusty T-posed on the roof, eyes peeled ahead. “Hey so we have the entire Canadian population in zombots right ahead but I also see Angel Island over there.”

Cheese slammed on the brakes, throwing everyone in the van forward. But not Rusty. Rusty remained, establishing dominance on the world. “HEY, BAD NEWS, GANG!”

“We’re all going to break our necks if we keep doing that?” Novia offered, rubbing her forehead.

Cheese smiled in awkward fear. “There are 38 million Canadian zombots ahead of us and we’ll have to get through them to get to Angel Island.” The Mystery Machine’s occupants were silent for a moment before Tensuki muttered something.

“Well shit.” He said, to the horror of the entire planet. 

Rusty looked down from their throne. “ _He’s been corrupted. Verbally._ ”

Mori knocked on the walls of the vehicle. “So what’s the - OH MY GOD!” Looking out of the windshield, a large group, though not all of the zombots certainly, broke off to charge at the van. Skizz and Novia perked up immediately, the only ones with actual weapons.

Cheese threw the van into reverse, screaming all the while. Was that a grizzly bear zombot? Suddenly their vision was filled with flames, warmth flowing quickly into the Mystery Machine. A wave of zombots drew back quickly, the spray of flames too hot to handle. Two forms landed in front of Rusty, then jumping down in front of the van. One of them laughed maniacally and shot fire out of their mouth at the zombots as the other figure turned towards the van, looking through the windshield with a smug, shit-eating grin. “You’re welcome, chaos children.”

Novia rushed to the front, poking him in the forehead with her staff. “Zagreus! You’re fucking late you chevron bastard!”

He smacked her staff away with a growl. “Well damn, sorry! Next time I’ll make sure they catch up with you!”

Novia jumped out of the window, face-to-face with the Bastard ™, smirking as she looked down a few inches at him. “I’m taller than you.”

“Until I break your shins.” Zagreus responded, feeling a small bundle run into his side. “Hey, Ten!”

“Zag!” Ten greeted, looking up at Zagreus with a knowing smile. “Good to see you again, tsundere!”

Zagreus flushed deep. “Goddamn it, I have a reputation to uphold!”

“Of being a tsundere!” Lavender answered, velociraptor off to find a source of water, exhausted from trying to keep up with a van for several hundred miles. 

“When did you even get pyromantic powers anyway?” Snix asked, emerging from the van. “I can understand Scourge having powers, he’s an Oni, but you’re you.”

“You say that as if I’m not completely remarkable.” Zagreus noted, pointedly ignoring Novia taking a breath to speak. “We’re here to do what Blaze should’ve done in IDW. So we came from the Sol Dimension and stuff.”

“HELL YEAH WE DID!” Scourge finally stopped breathing fire. “WOHOOOOO!” They jumped through the open window of the van, nuggieing Kiwi.

Zagreus turned towards Ten again. “So where did we even land? It’s cold as fuck.” Novia smiled shittily at him. He paled, rage filling his eyes. “ _No._ ”

She cackled. “Welcome to Canada!”

Zag turned away from her, breathing fire. “FUCKING CANADA! I HATE THIS PLACE FUCKING HELL!” He turned back, calmer. “Ok, priorities. I can hate the colonistic machinations of the north later.”

Novia bowed dramatically to Zag, “Your short highness!”

“Hell yeah I’m a highness, I own that shit.” He passed her, sitting out the back of the van. “So what’s our plan, huh?”  
  
Rock was relieved at the help. “Generally? Get to Angel Island. Right now? We’re probably going to run a bunch of the zombots up and magic our way up onto the island.”

Scourge laughed as Zag sighed, disappointed. He turned towards Rusty. “You and Lavender are staying in the van. Me and Scourge will take care of this.” The two pulled themselves onto the roof, a suddenly viciousness filling their gazes as they took position on the roof of the Mystery Machine. Their eyes reflected the patterns of bloodstone. “Alright, time to fuck shit up. We’ll guide us through.”

Novia looked up towards the roof. “Ok, edgelords. Don’t die.”

Zagreus looked down with a gremlin grin. “I appreciate your concern, but I’m pretty sure we’ve got this covered.”

Snix sniffed. “Everything seems to be going so well right now - no one died this chapter - but I’d like to make it known that I don’t trust this at all.”


	6. Technical

Cheese started up the van, prepared to charge forward with two living flamethrowers standing on the roof of the Mystery Machine. In the back, the members of the server huddled toward the locked back, prepared to feel zombots under the wheels of the van. “Are we ready?” Cheese yelled back.

Rock yelled back. “Just go!”

Zagreus and Scourge readied themselves on the roof. “This is going to look so cool!” Cheese floored it, gas propelling the van forward, catching the attention of the zombots that remained. The van, for a moment, growled, then sputtered, slowing to a halt halfway through the dirt road. Zagreus leaned off the top to stare in the window, trying not to pay much mind to the stumbling mass of metal and limbs. “Stop holding the fuck up, we’re on a bit of a time crunch.”

Cheese hyperventilated, arms extended between them and the steering wheel. Tensuki climbed to the front, checking the gas. “We’re - we’re out of gas.”

The back of the van screamed, but Scourge yelled over them, even as the velociraptor ran away and the pounding of feet got louder. “Everyone out, I’m going to make this the coolest shit!” He tore the back doors open, not caring about how much they could’ve protected the group. He grabbed the front of Snix’s shirt, carried them out and threw them onto Angel Island. Zagreus quickly copied the action with Ten, moving to grab Lavender. Before he did, however, he realized it was already too late. She had metal racing up her arms. 

The others backed away from her, forming a circle back to back. Nevertheless, it didn’t help. 

The horde was already upon them.

Novia and Zagreus defaulted to fighting back-to-back, staff and flames working in double-time. “Aren’t we usually doing this to each other?” Novia quipped with a savage swing towards zombot Justin Trudeau.

Zagreus huffed in effort. “Changing it up keeps us on our toes. Fun bonding experience and whatnot.” He didn’t think twice about her not responding immediately, focused on the battle ahead of him and trusting her to maintain her pace. He turned briefly and regretted it instantly. Shadow was there again, grabbing at Novia’s arm with his metallic hands, spreading the infection to her.

Zagreus growled, pushing more flames out with an enraged roar, pushing a decent bit of the zombots back before he felt arms encompass him from behind. The fire stopped at once while he smirked. “You know, tree-girl, you give decent hugs even as a rip-off terminator.”

\---

Rusty hung out in the hammock of the van, sleeping as metal ran up their form.

\---

The damaged doors of the van were propped up as a shield against the damaged body of the vehicle, housing Niya, Mori, Skizz, Kiwi, and Feral. A harsh pull at one of the doors had Niya bursting forth passed them, decking a zombot grizzly bear in the face. It immediately backed off, watching as Niya decked yet another zombot. “Fuck you!” She punched another. “Fuck you!” She exclaimed again as she kicked another, ignoring the metal crawling up her skin. “And fuck the universe that allowed you to exist!”

Skizz joined her, hitting zombots with the butt of her rifle. She swung the weapon even as Niya was pulled into the crowd. She pulled away when she left hands on her arms and with a panicked glance, she saw the simps, Shu and Spot, dragging her into the horde. “My children have betrayed me!”

Kiwi grabbed one of the doors, hoisting it up and pushing into the crowd. “I’m not sure what I hate more, this situation or life.” 

Mori and Feral were grabbed by the horde when they lost the second door. “You.”

\---

Scourge could feel the metal crawling up their limbs, the cold pinpricks urging him on. Flames spit everywhere even as behind him Gleam hoisted Cheese on top of the Mystery Machine, Rock helping him do so. 

Limbs grabbed at Scourge, and for once, he couldn’t go stupid go crazy AAAAA.

Gleam turned around, Rock unsuccessfully being pulled up by Cheese. Gleam outstretched him arms and ran forward, creating a path and carrying nearly two dozen zombots before he was lost to the crowd.

Rock almost pulled themself up and onto the van before a claw gripped their ankle, pulling them down. Cheese went to grab them, trying to help them up, only to follow Rock as they were pulled down and into the crowd. 

\---

Ten forced himself up, feeling grass tickle his palms. He looked around and started walking towards the green glow passed the treeline. Had he blacked out on the way up? He made it to a stone pathway, running along until he stood before it. The Master Emerald. But…

“Hey, kiddo!” Thark greeted, Goblet of Being God in her hand. “Took you long enough!”

Ten took a moment. “How long have you been here?”

Bucky piped up behind Thark. “Oh, we’ve been here the entire time!”

“But - but you were there when Professor let the virus loose.” He tried to reason.

Thark hummed. “Not really. I mean, part of us was there, sure, but we’re mainly here.” Ten gave her a Look ™, and she gave him a comforting smile. “We’ve corralled so much chaos at this point that we’re basically beings of chaos. The chaos emeralds, like the versions of us you saw at the office, have chaos energy, sure, but they aren’t the main deal like the people and Master Emerald here on Angel Island.”

Ten deadpanned. “This is more lore than this universe deserves.” Suddenly, he left a hand on his shoulder and spun to see what touched him. There stood the zombot Professor. 

“Oh dear.” Thark sipped from her Goblet.

Professor smiled like a shark. “Hey kid, wanna meet God?” Within his grip, Ten was quickly covered, cure not found.

For a few seconds, all was still. That is until Snix burst from the path and passed both of the zombot. “Super Snix, super Snix, super snix!” They dove for the Emerald as the zombots reached for them.


	7. 2 ∞

Snix dove, a second in air feeling like a lifetime. A breath in and a sensation raced from their fingertips to their heart - they got it! Energy flashed forward and outward, blasting Professor and Tensuki back. Bucky and Thark disappeared, somewhere into the Void of Chaos and Snix flew up, taking in the view of Angel Island and the rest of the area beneath it.    
  
Snix took a breath and prepared to move before suddenly stopping in the air. “Wait, how do I do this? I’ve never done this before!” They floated for a moment, scowling as they spotted Spot and Shura stumbling together, still hand-in-hand. Mooms was among the crowd, seemingly searching but never finding. They were so slow, never once running and jumping with their usual spirit.

Actually, they were slower than just stumbling.  _ Everything _ was slower than normal.

Snix focused into the air and - there! Everything so was slow that if they focused, they could see individual air molecules trying and failing to rush about. All at once, Snix knew what to do. In a quick and sudden flash, Snix moved, a streak moving around the world and grabbing every molecule they could of the metal virus, holding it away from them with chaos energy itself. The Americas done in a jiffy, Europe and Africa cleared in a blink, Australia, Oceania, and Asia healed in a tic. Snix stopped above Canada, above Angel Island and threw the mass of squirming, sickening metal up. 

Up into the Sun.

Snix watched as it exited the atmosphere before realizing that they were falling. They didn’t mean to -  _ oh.  _ The super form was leaving. Snix passed out, not feeling that rock and earth broke apart under the force of the remains of chaos energy.

Cheese looked up, a ringing in their ears, and they screamed. “Scatter!” Above them, Angel Island was falling, plummeting to the Earth in more than one part. Screams emerged from the ground-bound people, grizzly bears and humans running around with a lack of direction. The velociraptor returned, scooping Lavender up with his head. 

The island crashed down with a loud groan upon the Earth, fully breaking apart into several parts. In the middle lay Snix, unconscious but certainly breathing. 

Rock, Shura, Spot, and Cheese were all huddled together in the husk of the Mystery Machine, stunned. They made no move, breathing hard. “So that sucked.” Cheese let out a breathy laugh.

A cloud of dust tracked up and through it Novia pushed through the crowd, looking into the van. “Where…?”

A figure cleared his throat, leaning on the side of the van. “Looking for me?”

Novia launched at Zagreus, lifting him off of his feet. “Thought I lost you there short-stack!”

Zagreus put up a token fight against her grip. “I’m only three inches shorter than you, pine tree!” Scourge approached from far off, waving. Before he can send anything, he was tackled. Niya shook him from his collar. “WHY THE HELL DID YOU TAKE THE DOORS OFF THE VAN?!”

“Why not?!” He cackled, even as he was continually shaken.

Gleam returned, quickly spotting Shadow. He launched himself at the hedgehog with a tight hug, letting Arrias into the hug when she rushed towards them.

Rusty finally awoke. “Damn, what a crazy fucking dream.” Kit and Dragon pulled them down into a cuddle-pile, dragging a blanket over them to go back to sleep. One-by-one, the group filed back through the crowd towards the van. Shura and Spot laughed together, sitting in the back of the van as Mooms and Professor walked together, somehow finding a van in a country neither of them had been in before. Skizz found her rifle, throwing it into the van before reclining the passenger’s seat and turning on the radio. Pumpkin ran towards Rock, engulfing them in a hug. Mori, Feral, and Kiwi all returned together, talking as if nothing had happened. All but one returned to the Mystery Machine. 

Zagreus pushed passed a drowsy Snix. “Where’s Tensuki?” Mooms’ eyes widened, turning angrily towards Professor. 

“Prof, so help me god if you did another experiment in between the time we un-zomboted and now…!”

He held up his right hand. “I didn’t! Honest!” No one seemed to notice that his left hand was hidden behind his back, fingers crossed. 

Mooms turned towards the Canadian crowd. “Has anyone seen my boy-child? He’s yay-high, clearly gay but we haven’t had the talk yet!”

\---

The Master Emerald was no longer sat on its alter, caught in a tree a ways away. Thark and Bucky sat on a log, displeased that their glasses had broken on the way down. “Well, this is certainly a mess.”

Bucky nodded in agreement. “It’ll take such a long time to rebuild the island. We could always go on vacation.”

“Yeah,” a young voice answered from behind them, startling them both, “I could use a vacation too.” Thark and Bucky turned back, watching as a small figure emerged from the broken tree line. 

Tensuki sat next to them on the log, the Phantom Ruby in his chest not going unnoticed. 


End file.
